


Insomnia

by perorat



Category: The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Cuddling & Snuggling, Fluff, Insomnia, M/M, Past Pepper Potts/Tony Stark
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-05-30
Updated: 2014-05-30
Packaged: 2018-01-27 14:09:17
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 895
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1713401
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/perorat/pseuds/perorat
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Steve Rogers, super soldier and national hero, can't sleep.  Neither can Tony, apparently.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Shh.

**Author's Note:**

> Written while unable to sleep. How fitting!  
> Critiques are appreciated, as always, but do keep in mind that I was barely able to form coherent thoughts, let alone sentences.

It was around 3:12 A.M. that Steve had heard the stirring outside his door.  
He put down his book, exchanging it for the clock ticking on his nightstand. Almost a quarter past three, he confirmed with a grimace.  
Steve never intended to stay awake for this long, but it always seemed to happen. It wasn't that the novel he had been reading was particularly gripping, or even one he hadn't read a million times over before. He didn't have nightmares, or sleep walking issues, nor was there another similar agenda for his night owl habits. Steve Rogers, super soldier and national hero, simply could not fall asleep.  
He had easily ruled out the possibility of discomfort or unease as the culprit in his struggle for shut-eye. Months had passed since the entirety of the Avengers team had moved into Stark Mansion, and by some combination of unspoken agreement of necessity and pure luck, everything was going just fine. Meals were a haphazard mix of homemade cooking and takeout, bedrooms were spaced just far enough for every party's comfort, and brawls between them were few and usually quickly contained by Coulson. Everyone's silent biggest worry, namely Bruce Banner's "other guy", was yet to make an uninvited guest appearance. At least within Steve's perception, everyone was at complete comfort with one another. So why couldn't he just sleep?  
Remembering his surroundings, Steve's ears focused on the sound.  
It was faint, but distinctly the sound of scattered pattering feet, growing louder, then suddenly softer. Almost as if someone was indecisively debating approaching his door.  
"Hello?" Steve whispered. The shuffling stopped.  
Picking up his most presentable pajama pants and throwing them on, he padded to the slightly ajar frame of his doorway and peeked through.  
When his eyes locked with familiar ones, Steve let the door swing open a little further. It was, though not unpleasant, surely a surprise to see Tony Stark standing before him. Never one for humility, he was clad in only a pair of grey shorts and thick red slippers. The light from his arc reactor glowed electrically, casting dark shadows enveloped in blue across the otherwise unlit hallway. Steve made a mental note to draw this in the morning, or at least tonight, as he guessed trying to sleep would be futile.  
"I..." Tony began, and Steve realized there had been a slightly uncomfortable pause between opening the door and now. "I can't sleep."  
Steve blinked.  
"Insomnia?"  
"No," Tony chuckled humorlessly. "Insomnia is the word they use for people who still remember how to sleep. I've lost that ability entirely."  
Another lull passed between them. The sleep deprivation, Steve surely understood. But why was he here?  
Tony seemed to read his mind.  
"I, uh, thought about the last time I was able to sleep and, well, it was when I had someone with me. Pepper, to be specific. So it's not actually insomnia on a diagnostic level, yeah, it's actually, uh-"  
"Loneliness?" Steve added, and immediately regretted it.  
There was a small twitch of emotion on Tony's face, like a big mesh of confirmation and sadness and anger and confusion and then it was gone, whisked away in a snap of blankness.  
"Y'know, this was a stupid idea anyway. Just forget it, I'll leave. I don't need a surrogate or anything. Sorry to bother you, Cap." Throwing up his hands, Tony turned on his heel dramatically but was caught by a strong hand on his shoulder.  
"No, it's, um, alright. I get it, you can, uh-" Steve could tell how lame this response was, but Tony understood.  
They walked into the illuminated depths of the room, Tony taking a seat on the edge of Steve's bed while the other man neatly tucked his forgotten book into a shelf.  
Steve had expected the following silence to be an awkward, tense one, but it wasn't. Somehow, everything seemed natural, as if this was already a nightly routine. Tony kicked off his slippers and splayed across the oversized bed, leaving more than enough room for Steve to crawl in without any contact. Steve curled up right beside him anyway, feeling emboldened by Tony's relaxed demeanor. He had assumed Tony would quirk an eyebrow, or at least scoot away a little, but instead the smaller man clicked like a puzzle piece against his body, cozying his head upon the pillows.  
Instinctively, he placed a chaste kiss on Tony's shoulder. He immediately tensed, realizing the weight of what he'd done.  
"Stark, I..."  
"Shh." Tony garbled, eyelids already heavy.  
He turned his upper body around and pressed his lips against Steve's.  
"There, now that's out of the way."


	2. Epilogue

"So, Captain Playboy, who was your lady friend last night?"  
Steve was utterly confused by the question posed, staring hard into Natasha's eyes for a hint of clarification.  
"You know," she drawled, punctuating with a sip of tea. "I could hear footsteps around your room last night. Two sets of them." She swiveled her chair around the kitchen counter, placing her back to Steve for dramatic effect. He could hear the smugness tinged in the innocence of her voice, as if she knew exactly what the real story was. Steve wasn't sure how to approach this.   
"It wasn't a dame, exactly..." He confessed, hoping she'd understand the implications.  
The grin she shot back confirmed that Natasha completely understood the implications.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Headcanon: Natasha and Steve are platonic BFFs 4ever


End file.
